You don’t have to listen all that hard to hear the Farmington Tigers boys’ hockey team. 

They chatter on the bench. Gab on the ice. Babble between whistles. 

“That’s actually something we talked about between the first and second period,” Tigers coach Scott Macho said after Thursday night’s game against Rochester Century. “Coming back to the bench, we heard a lot of chirping with each other.”

On the road against the Panthers, Farmington’s running dialogue eventually paid dividends, as the Tigers (5-3-1) scored four straight goals in the third period to erase a 2-0 deficit and escape the Graham Arena Complex with a 4-2 victory. 

“It’s a struggle that we’ve had this season of just putting three (periods) together,” Macho said of his team’s slow start, which afforded Rochester Century its initial lead. “They’re slowly starting to figure it out.”

Lyncoln Bielenberg-Howarth and Joey Malugani gave the Panthers (10-2) their 2-0 advantage after two periods. Still, the duo’s forward line was unable to close the gap in the third frame after the Tigers leaped in front. 

Logan Weierke put Farmington on the board just two minutes into the third period before Ryan Holmstrom tied the game 62 seconds later. Senior forward Cade Marschall scored the eventual game-winning goal for the Tigers and added the clinching goal with 4:51 to play in regulation. 

On Marcshall’s fourth goal, the team’s leading scorer caught the puck with room to spare in front of the Rochester Century net. Instead of opting for the quick shot, Marschall carefully secured the puck, picked his spot, and rifled a wrist shot past Panther goaltender Tim Pundt. 

“We’re learning (about) him as well because he’s just finally getting some varsity time this year,” Macho said. “He’s been a real big surprise for us. I think he’s learning his game at the varsity level.”

Marschall has totaled six goals and eight points for the Tigers after missing the season’s first couple of games with an injury, which has been the story of the season so far for Farmington. 

“Unfortunately, this is the first game that we’ve had a full lineup,” Macho admitted with a chuckle. “We had guys who hadn’t played since the first game of the season.”

With a healthy roster, the Tigers picked up a victory against a Class 2A, Section 1 opponent, and can now turn their attention to pleasing the Farmington faithful with four home games in their next six contests.